IT problems: Flight cancellations at Lufthansa: Passengers have these rights

chaos at Airport Frankfurt am Main and at some other German airports: Due to a major IT malfunction at Lufthansa, numerous flights are currently being canceled or delayed. Long queues formed at the airports and many passengers had to switch to other means of transport or cancel their trip. But what rights do those affected have in this case? And is there any compensation?

Chaos at Lufthansa: That’s why there are flight cancellations

An IT malfunction at the airport is to blame for the flight cancellations and delays Lufthansa, Germany’s largest airline. The company cites a “failure of telecommunications lines in the greater Frankfurt area” as the reason for the problems. Such a line was severed on Tuesday afternoon during construction work on a railway line. Also read: IT malfunction at Lufthansa – These flights are cancelled

As a result, according to Lufthansa, it mainly occurs at the airport Frankfurt, partly also in Munich to problems. In addition, at times German air traffic control no longer directed any aircraft to Frankfurt Airport. This was to prevent the airport from becoming too crowded – after all, no Lufthansa planes took off there for hours.

Flight cancellations after an IT malfunction at Lufthansa: What rights do passengers have?

For many people, this means that today they reach their destination later or not at all. In the case of domestic German connections and short-haul flights, you can sometimes choose others Means of transport transfer. But that also costs money and nerves. Also interesting: Lufthansa share price collapses after IT failure

Affected persons – under certain circumstances – stand for that Damage payment to. Basically, the airline only has to pay money if it could not have prevented the failure. Is that even the case with the current disruption? After all, according to the current state of knowledge, the internet is down – and Lufthansa can’t do anything about that.

Expert sees a right to compensation for Lufthansa flight cancellations

Nevertheless, Matthias Böse, lawyer and expert on Air Passenger Rights, the chance to get compensation for good one. “There should definitely be a claim for compensation,” said Böse in an interview with our editors. Because, according to the expert: “You could have flown without IT – that was also possible 50 years ago.” Lufthansa made the decision to cancel certain flights itself. Therefore, according to Böse, she must also be liable. More on the subject: Flight cancellations – These are the rights passengers have during strikes

In addition, that would have IT system he believes can be safeguarded against the failure of a single communications line. So it would have been possible to prevent such a problem. The expert assesses the situation differently for the aircraft that were diverted by German air traffic control. In this case, the respective airline is not responsible for the inconvenience – one speaks of “force majeure”. Whether claims still exist – and if so against whom – must be clarified in each individual case.

Flight cancellations at Lufthansa: What are those affected entitled to?

“In the event of flight cancellations, overbooking or strong delays According to the European Air Passenger Rights Ordinance (EG No. 261/2004), passengers are entitled to compensation of up to 600 euros,” writes the specialist portal “Flight Right”. In order to receive the money, the flight must be severely delayed – the guideline is three hours – or cancelled. How high the compensation is then depends on the distance that should be covered by plane.

If the flight is completely cancelled, customers can also change the price of the tickets from the respective airline. And if additional costs are incurred due to a flight cancellation or delays, these are sometimes reimbursed. In order to make a claim against the airline, you should definitely keep the corresponding receipts.

More articles from this category can be found here: Life